And I started wondering - What is going on??? I had to find out for myself, I didn't accept the media's explanation, so I read books, researched the internet, and watched documentaries.
I will hear people say (especially us country folk) "I don't understand what is wrong with kids these days, we grew up on Kool-Aid, Soda, and sweets and turned out just fine. Every morning for breakfast we had a stack of real bacon, eggs, coffee and then smoked on the way to school and we're still alive!"
Here is what's wrong - the food is different, the way we eat is different. IT IS. The food is different and the products we use are different from what they used to be, and if we continue to blindly eat like this, and use products that are toxic, because it tastes good, smells good, looks good or because you just don't have time to cook a homemade meal, we will continue to see sharp increases in these and other health issues.
(Image: Global Jet, Creative Commons)
When I was a kid I can remember it was a special treat to get to eat out - regardless if it was McDonalds, a sit down and eat meal, or take home pizza. This happened (yes, even with a full schedule of after school activities and sports and 3 kids....) only a couple of times a month. My friends eat out with their kids 3 to 4 times A WEEK! Which is right along with the national average.
High fructose corn syrup has replaced sugar in most common grocery store products from pop to ketchup (I know about the argument that HFCS is not any worse than sugar and if you believe that, then you are too naive and/or gullible to be arguing with anyone - IMNHO). Commercially mass produced meat is packed full of growth hormones, and antibiotics, they are fed horrible things, and live in even worse conditions. Chemicals have replaced natural flavorings, and are being used in mass quantities to preserve food. Even produce has been dumbed down to a bare minimum, unless you are buying local organic there is a good chance the produce you are eating has never even seen the soil.
Photo credit: KevinLallier via Flickr/Creative Commons
It doesn't stop with our food either. Without there being any specific laws regarding cosmetics and personal product safety (don't even get me started on the uselessness of the Consumer Product Safety Commission) the industry has had and extremely loose rein on what they use to manufacture their products. We trust that it's safe. It's not. We buy things because they smell pretty, or they look good on us, and we think that the government makes them sell us a safe product. We think even if there is some bad stuff in my favorite shampoo - its not that much and nothing bad will ever happen to me. We're WRONG - you are wrong.
Now I know food companies and personal product companies were never saints but there is a difference between what used to happen, when companies would manufacture something that they didn't know was harmful and then later pull it from the shelf or issue a warning label and apologize; and now, when today companies know EXACTLY what these chemicals and compounds do to a human body, and use them anyway in the name of "cost effectiveness" and "profit".
This website is a giant database of personal products. Not just cosmetics, but deodorant, soaps, lotions, fragrances etc... they are all rated according to their risk. The ingredients are broken down and rated individually so if you want, you can find out exactly what it is about your Secrete Deodorant that makes it a risk to use.
What's really cool about this site is that you can create an account, search, and throw all the stuff you are currently using into your "my favorites" basket, then when viewing your basket you can see exactly how much of certain bad chemicals you are getting on your skin or being exposed to during the day - in a pie chart if you want! I was shocked. I am changing 90% of the products I was currently using.
Here is what I suggest to all of you. Go through the stuff you are using - make a list of the stuff that is over a risk factor 2 and get rid of it, donate it if you have to feel good about getting rid of it, but I would recommend the trash. Find something safer that is a risk factor 2 or better to replace it with. You may have to go to a health store to get it; don't worry we're not all free loving hippies wondering the isles in a mindless gaze, smelling of that "off the grid lifestyle" there are LOTS of normal people there too. There are also lots more mainstream places to find these products like Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and even Target is making an effort to carry better personal care products and household cleaning products, and you can order everything online if trips to a health store is not for you. There are TONS of healthy non-toxic products out there - if one doesn't work, try something else! Don't forget sunscreen, there is some truly horrible sunscreen products out there that actually put you at MORE of a risk for cancer than going without sunblock.
I am switching my Jergen's Daily Moisturizer, that was a risk level 7, to Aveeno
fragrance free Active Naturals Daily Body Lotion, risk level 2. I switched my Nexxus Therappe Shampoo, risk level 7, to TIGI Bed Head Self Absorbed Shampoo
and Conditioner
, risk level 2. I am switched my Dove soap bar, risk level 5, to an Aveeno Moisturizing Bar
, risk level 2. I am switching my Dove Antiperspirant, risk level 6, with Sure Antiperspirant, Unscented, risk factor 2
. SEEEEEE? It's not that hard, and all this stuff I can still pick at my local store in town or order online, and get free shipping most of the time.
fragrance free Active Naturals Daily Body Lotion, risk level 2. I switched my Nexxus Therappe Shampoo, risk level 7, to TIGI Bed Head Self Absorbed Shampoo and Conditioner, risk level 2. I am switched my Dove soap bar, risk level 5, to an Aveeno Moisturizing Bar, risk level 2. I am switching my Dove Antiperspirant, risk level 6, with Sure Antiperspirant, Unscented, risk factor 2. SEEEEEE? It's not that hard, and all this stuff I can still pick at my local store in town or order online, and get free shipping most of the time.Hey, I was there too, I would use whatever felt good on my skin, whatever smelled good, made my face look pretty, then go outside and apply all the chemicals we use on our horses by hand, even if the label recommended wearing gloves. Often, I wouldn't even bother to wash my hands before I ate..... Hell! I am cowgirl, I'm tough, I wasn't gonna spend a bunch of money on "healthy environmentally friendly" cosmetics when the grocery store stuff works just fine, I was no city "sissy la la girl" - and if you can't handle horse product then you ought to take up dog showing, right?
Not anymore, not after what I have learned... now I am careful and I hope its not too late.
The bottom line is you don't know how much better you could feel everyday till you try getting away from these products, eating healthy and wearing some darn rubber gloves ladies! What have you got to lose? The way you feel all tired and like crap? Cowgirl Up and go for it.
13 comments:
Thank you. Now I don't feel so alone. I discovered all of this last year. Shocking isn't it. But most people I know just sort of dismiss it, without giving it any thought.
Ever wonder why we have such a high rate of breast cancer? Could it possibly be that There are high levels ofestrogen is in all the meats that most of us eat? Not to mention the estrogen mimickers that are in most fragranced products.
I, too, used to spray fly spray and rub it in with my bare hands and then have a snack.
I guess all we can do, is keep posting.
I miss my homegrown beefers. I miss home grown eggs. I miss a good garden (THAT I can and will change this season, with Heritage seeds I hope.)
I do a lot of cooking from scratch. Don't wear cosmetics (never have.) Hardly ever use lotions (love home made goats milk lotions and soaps though.) We don't *like* the processed to hell and back foods for the most part in this home, so... I cook. A lot. And it shows! We're a healthy weight, lots of muscles among us, and generally we feel pretty darn good. Amen to that huh?
Keep it up Steph! Proud of you for all you have done and continue to do!!!
xoxo
I used to have a box of medical gloves or three around the house. They didn't survive the trip to GA. That's what happens when they're packed in a box sitting on the deck of the moving truck, right above the drive shaft. I now fully understand what happens to old condoms that have been carried in someone's wallet forever. Ahem! ;-)
I want the gloves because I'm really tired of managing to de-worm myself every time I de-worm any of the critters. At least I know I don't have worms!
This has been a low-level thing for me for some time. Partially because of my friend in AK that had migraines from MSG. Partially because while I was in AK, right after Dude was born I started having issues with products. With beauty products even! Do you know how awesome it is to have your future boyfriend drive 3 hours to meet you and for your hands to be recovering from blisters, so that they're peeling and you look like you have leprosy? Yeah. Awesome!
I will have to look into this a bit more. But, my fav all-purpose cleaner is to take an empty spray bottle and mix in the following:
16 oz water
1/2 c. Murphy's Oil Soap
10-12 drops of Sweet Orange Oil
I love the cleaning properties of this! But be careful if you use it in your tub or on the floor.
It's a nightmare out there.
I've been getting deeper and deeper into this stuff as well, because the more I read about ADD/ADHD, the more a person realizes it correlates to food and now I am realizing also the products a person uses daily.
We are poisoning our systems on a daily basis.
I read an interesting article, that was poo-pooed, about a possible correlation between deodorant and breast cysts/cancer a while back. It made perfect sense to me, but of course the 'experts' said it was a total fallacy. Unfortunately, sweating is natural and the harder we work to keep our pits from sweating...the more we plug the pores and where do all of those toxins go? They drain right down into our breast area and build up. I wished I could remember what magazine that article was in. It sounded far out at the time, but I always thought it held at least a nugget of truth.
Not that I have given up on deodorant, but I sure did steer away from the Ultra-Strong types after that.
You're right in that we eat differently. And it totally shows on my arse!
I usually don't buy into a lot of this, but I'll go look at the website. I think I just get stuck in the habit - I buy what I buy because it's always the brand I've used, not necessarily because I *have* to have that product. Unless it's CocaCola and that's a whole different story, sister.
oh this is just perfect timing and i want to share my perspective as an expat.
as you know we just spent the last 3 weeks in the US and the first thing we noticed was how YUMMY all the food is. american food has so much more sugar and fat and chemicals (incl. msg) all working together to make it so tasty! in germany i've been so disappointed at local pastry shops i just quit buying anything but bread. germans just don't tend to pack their foods with yummy fat, sugar, HFCS, and chems, leaving them bland and boring and it doesn't help you float when you swim.
i gained 10 pounds in those three weeks, indulging on every little thing i missed from the past.
and one hour ago i packed my husband's lunch and included a hostess dingdong and hostess zinger and he saw them and sighed. "what?" i asked. he said, "oh, they're just so sweet!" i said, "well eat them slowly!"*lol*
i hate to say it but german grocery items are naturally healthier. our bread goes bad in two days if we don't finish the loaf. how long does a pack of orowheat last us back home? mmmmmmmm i love orowheat, but it tends to stay soft a very long time.
and i saw a commercial last week, "HFCS is the same thing as sugar." hm!
my mom saw all the kool aid i packed and shook her head - how much sugar do you put in there? well, a half cup per 2 liters. that's not too bad is it?: ) i love aspartame but i cannot open all those packets quickly.
now i'm so big i wouldn't dare climb up on a horse, it would be wrong.
ooh, i just saw the word spam in your comment intro. yah, we went thru some of that too while home.
now it's different: i've got a whole chicken defrosting, and a bunch of raw vegetables to cook it with.
someday i may even ride a horse again!
~lytha
I feel the same way about food. I try my best to get more natural stuff, especially for my boys; no soda or sugary drinks, fake sweets, white bread.
I very strongly believe add/adhd and some of the autism we are seeing has a tremendous amount to do with what we are putting in our kids.
Is it that white bread is so much the evil? Or that all the junk that goes in white bread is evil?
Let me break down a homemade loaf of white bread and a store bought loaf of white bread.
Homemade: water, butter, flour, sugar, salt, yeast.
Simple, easy, you know exactly what the ingredients are for. And the measly one tablespoon of sugar is for the yeast to eat, not to sweeten the bread and hide the chemicals.
Store bought: Enriched Wheat Flour (Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Yeast, Contains 2% Or Less Of The Following: Salt, Soybean Oil, Defatted Soy Flour, Mono- And Diglycerides, Calcium Propionate (A Preservative). Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Calcium Sulfate, Sugar, Ammonium Sulfate, Monocalcium Phosphate, Wheat Starch, Ascorbic Acid Added As A Dough Conditioner, Calcium Peroxide, Enzymes, Azodicarbonamide, Soy Lecithin. Allergy Warning: Contains Wheat And Soy. May Contain Traces Of Milk, Eggs And Hazelnuts.
Which one sounds healthier to you? My first thoughts on reading that were, "Holy Crap! It's Franken-bread!", and "What the hell is a 'dough conditioner'?"
All this processed, pre-packaged foods are keeping Americans from getting enough fiber. We're filling up on so much crap like the above store bought bread that we aren't eating enough fruits and vegetables that would give us the fiber we need in our diets.
Good "food" for thought!
Me and the hubby need to get off the quick and easy meal plan before we start blocking out the sun or drop from clogged arteries. A little work and planning when it comes to meals is important- that fact is becoming clearer everyday!!
I'm going to have to rate my products and see what I can change there as well!!
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for posting this Steph - very interesting info. I'm aware of some of it, but sometimes don't think about it too much because it scares me a bit. This posts makes me want to re-evaluate some of the products I use and make a bigger effort to reduce the chemicals that come into the house...
Also, I try and buy organic and local when I can and I want to keep up that trend. I really wish I could find some nice grass-fed local beef around here, but it is surprisingly difficult. That will be a good project for the spring/summer...
I am so glad you are becoming aware of how dangerous food has become thanks to our government. Here are some links to ponder:
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/health/fitness/2010/12/all_about_sweeteners.html
http://www.salem-news.com/articles/december242010/monsanto-food-ch.php
http://foodfreedom.wordpress.com/2010/12/22/monsantos-neotame-molecule-allowed-in-usda-certified-organic-foods/
I hope this helps you in your fight to be healthy in this world.
I find it interesting that nearly everyone that I talk to is on board on the food issue - but once I bring up products I am more than likely to get some resistance, and I am not sure why this is.
Mainstream views on food are changing for the better. But you have to understand, this is NOT new. Groups that we view as "fringe" groups - health nuts, vegans, naturopaths, and natural lifestyle folks have been SCREAMING this stuff at us for at least 100 years, kid you not, and its just starting to sink in. They weren't fruit loops, they were right about our declining health, quality of food, and the healing power of a healthy natural diet.
The same is true about products. It is. I will prove it to you. Take you favorite personal product and run it through the database. If it comes up as a risk factor, scroll down and see exactly which ingredient is a risk and why. Now copy that ingredient and paste it in a google window - read about it, then write it down and take it to your local library, ask for help and they'll point you in the right direction. When you are done researching you can come back here, post a comment, and tell me what I already know.... "X" ingredient is some "not so cool stuff" for human use.
Will it kill you right away? Not likely. Will it shorten your life span? Maybe, maybe not. Will it make you feel like crap in some way you're not realizing?? There is a good chance of that especially after years of repeated exposer. Will you get cancer because you use it? Depends on the person and other risk factors. But it does increase your chances.
And why take the chance? If is it my fate to die of cancer - I want to go knowing that I did everything that I could to avoid it, and that yeah, maybe it is God's Will. I don't want to say goodbye to my husband, friends, family, dogs, and ponies thinking "IF ONLY I WOULD"VE...."
One of my friends that was diagnosed with cancer turned me on to this cosmetic data base. Her traditional doctor told her to use it - and told her not to use any products that was over a risk factor 0 while she fought cancer. Now if he was telling her that then (post diagnoses) WHY are they not telling everyone this stuff before we have cancer?
Steph,
If you come down with cancer, I have the Gerson book. Just sayin', we got you covered.
I'm not making light of what you're saying. It's something I think about from time to time. If soap and water was good enough for our great-grandparents, why isn't it for us?
I have a recipe for making your own laundry detergent that is as good as Tide, but costs about $1 a bottle to make. It takes exactly $10 worth of ingredients, a pot you'll never cook in and a couple jugs to make approximately 10 bottles of Tide.
I'm on board, Steph. It's something I've thought about from time to time. It's something I've been jabbing at my husband about for a while and he's slowly coming around. And frankly, it was my main goal at the farm.
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